Bucs Mock Draft Roundup 12.0

It’s draft week! That makes this the LAST Mock Draft Roundup of the year. By Saturday evening we will all know where each team stands, and which new additions went where, so we can finally stop hypothesizing.

What’s interesting is that where the field was pretty centered around Devin White to be the Bucs’ pick at fifth overall, the closer we get to the draft, the more that comes in question. Where the majority was picking White last week, there is a pretty even split between White, Josh Allen, Quinnen Williams and Ed Oliver thrown in there.

Williams stock has only risen the closer the draft becomes, so it’s probably a long shot to think he’ll still be on the board at five. There’s some push back on taking Devin White at the fifth overall spot, the thinking being it’s too high to take an inside linebacker. The thing is, if the Bucs trade back, I’m not so sure he’d still be there depending which spot they trade back to. If it’s White they want, then they may as well take him at five. Between his talent and leadership qualities, he could be more than deserving.

Read below for the rationale behind the picks and get ready for the real thing starting Thursday night!

Reuter: “The Bucs get their man and extra picks from the Giants -- probably a third- and fourth-rounder in 2019 and future middle-round pick, a similar haul to what the 49ers took from Chicago in this type of swap in 2017.”

Daniel Jeremiah (April 16) – EDGE Josh Allen, Kentucky

Jeremiah: “I could see this as a trade-down spot if a team wants to move up for a QB. However, if the Bucs stay here and Allen is still available, he'd be too tempting to pass up.”

Charlie Casserly (April 9) – LB Devin White, LSU

Casserly: “He's an instinctive football player who can make plays from sideline to sideline.”

ESPN.com

Todd McShay (April 18) – LB Devin White, LSU

McShay: “Kwon Alexander is gone, so the Buccaneers could certainly use the sideline-to-sideline range of White. He had 123 tackles at LSU last season.”

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CBSSports.com

Ryan Wilson (April 17) – DL Quinnen Williams, Alabama

Wilson: “Williams is a monster. He dominated just about every snap during the 2018 season and he came to the combine and dominated there too, blazing a 4.83 40-yard dash, which only confirms what we already knew: His physical abilities are off the charts, and he's not only a legit top-five talent, he has an argument as the top-overall pick. Yes, the Buccaneers drafted Vita Vea a year ago but Gerald McCoy is 31 years old and will count roughly $13 million against the cap in each of the next three years.”

Chris Trapasso (April 11) – DL Quinnen Williams, Alabama

Trapasso: “While he's best as a penetrator, Williams' experience two-gapping inside would be music to the ears of new Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Awesome pairing with Williams and Vita Vea inside.”

SB Nation

Dan Kadar (April 22) – DL Ed Oliver, Houston

Kadar: “Leading up to the draft, Tampa Bay has spent an abnormally large amount of resources getting to know the best defensive tackles, from Williams and Oliver to Christian Wilkins of Clemson and Jeffery Simmons of Mississippi State. That could be an indication of what the team wants to do with the fifth pick.”

PewterReport.com

Scott Reynolds (April 20) – LB Devin White, LSU

Reynolds: “At first glance, linebacker doesn’t seem like a position of need with Lavonte David leading the way as a team captain, in addition to Kevin Minter, who was re-signed and Deone Bucannon, who was added on a one-year deal to play the Moneybacker role in nickel defense. But David turns 29 this year, and Tampa Bay’s defense could use a tremendous leader to replace Kwon Alexander, one with speed and play-making ability to take over the Bucs defense for the long haul.

To say that White is an alpha male would be an understatement. He’s the type of leader than can change a culture, and that’s what is needed at One Buccaneer Place. White, who is an effective blitzer from inside or from the edge, has the ability to play all of the linebacker spots, whereas a player like Michigan’s Devin Bush is likely better suited at WILL linebacker rather than in the middle where he played for the Wolverines.”